Tony Mowbray has cleared out ten players from his Coventry City squad as he prepares to freshen things up for next season.

But the Sky Blues boss has opened talks with Sam Ricketts and Marcus Tudgay – both of whom are likely to be offered reduced terms to reflect their ages or uncertainty of appearances – while star midfielder John Fleck has a deal on the table, albeit the Scot likely to move on this summer.

The 34-year-old prides himself on his fitness but suffered with his form in the second half of the season, and by using him more sparingly to keep him fresh will almost certainly get the best out of Mowbray’s link man to the players.

Below: Our verdict on Mowbray's squad axe

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A controversial one for the fans will, no doubt, be the release of Jim O’Brien. But the high-octane midfielder who never left anything out on the pitch was the one who asked to go on loan to Scunthorpe – where his season was ultimately cut short by injury – after not being used as much as he’d have liked at City.

He also expressed the desire to be closer to home in Barnsley and there’s clearly no way back for the 28-year-old who left many supporters scratching their heads when he left the club in February.

Jim O'Brien in action against Scunthorpe at the Ricoh Arena

Full-back Chris Stokes is out of contract but has an option in the club’s favour which Mowbray has activated to ensure he stays for a second full season. The 25-year-old has been one of City’s most consistent performers this season and shown that he is willing and able to learn and compete at this level. He’s still not the finished article but he has a dogged determination which the manager admires and feels he can work with to improve.

Meanwhile, although Reda Johnson’s influence in League One is without question, his lack of game time is a major concern and the big French speaking defender is clearly seen as too much of a gamble after making only 34 appearances in two years at the Ricoh Arena.

Player of the year John Fleck has been offered fresh terms but is not expected to be short of options in the Championship or north of the border, so is likely to be leaving the club this summer.

Veteran striker Tudgay, meanwhile, has been offered a new deal given his influence on and off the pitch and fact that despite only starting six games he still managed to score five goals. He’s unlikely to get City a stack of goals but there’s no reason why he couldn’t get into double figures if used a bit more next season.

Coventry City's Marcus Tudgay celebrates after scoring for Coventry to make it 2-1

But it’s his overall link play and ability to hold up the ball, coupled with his presence in both boxes and excellent football brain that makes him the sort of player every squad needs to help the youngsters with boundless energy on those horrible winter nights and afternoons on the road.

A player who is arguably worth a new deal but isn’t getting one is right-back Aaron Phillips whose excellent form in the last two months has served to remind us of his potential. He’s fit, quick and athletic and has a heart of lion who gives his all every time he pulls on a City shirt.

Another defender bringing an end to his City career is Aaron Martin who, to be fair, has shown his ability to dominate in the back four but probably not consistently enough for Mowbray who demands a man mountain performance from his centre-backs in every game.

The fact that right-back Martin Lorentzson has hardly figured (just five starts and two sub appearances) since he joined mid season leaves the Swede surplus to requirement along Peter Ramage who was farmed out on loan to Leyton Orient, Stephen Hunt who is set to retire, Darius Henderson who was brought in to help the second half push but it never really worked out for him and high-earning Conor Thomas who is leaving after making more than 100 appearances for his home-town club.

The midfielder, now 22, was rated one of the club’s brightest prospects and once seemed to be on the point of joining Premier League giants Liverpool, but a cruel sequence of injuries have seen him slip down the pecking order.

Finally, there’s no surprise that centre-forward Marc-Antoine Fortune had his contract cancelled by mutual consent to enable him to move on swiftly this summer. The likeable Frenchman promised much when he arrived in the Autumn but suffered with inconsistent form and never really got going at City.